Floresco
by SerenityWritesSlash
Summary: AU. A twenty-something florist, Rei didn't expect to fall in love with the 'boy next door'. But it's the amazing and fun things in life that no one ever sees coming, and if Rei's learned anything, Nagisa fell into both those categories.


_**A.N: Okay, I'll admit that I should be working on my multichapter story, but I'm actually kind of proud of this one. I've wanted to write Reigisa for a while now, so I thought I'd start out with a big, fat oneshot.**__**Enjoy!**_

* * *

_Floresco:_

_To Blossom or to bloom, the start of a new beginning. vrb_

* * *

The first time they met was a relatively nice morning in the first week of March. Rei had opened his window and was tending to the small jungle-like flower box nailed, which was filled to the brim with various types of plants and herbs. He was digging his gloved hand through the soil, tenderly avoiding the roots of his best rose, and lightly tucking some fertilization into the dirt.

Above him, the sun shone faintly between clouds, barely giving him any light to work with. It was a quiet morning, and the only sound Rei had to accompany him was that of the wind. Maybe it was because of this peaceful tranquility that he noticed the sound of another window clicking open, or maybe he was a bit on edge because of the precision he needed to properly apply this fertilizer.

Either way, the window of the building opposite him, exactly eleven meters away, was pushed open. And Rei noticed, looking up for only a brief moment.

His neighbor had blond hair (it looked natural, though it could've been dyed) that fell into his slightly youthful face, though he had a certain aura of cleverness that lingered around him, making Rei believe they were around the same age. He was wearing a bright yellow, unzipped sweater and no shirt underneath, revealing a surprisingly fit torso. The eyes that belonged to this neighbor were the most peculiar shade of amethyst, almost like a Passiflora flower.

Rei did not stare long, and continued to work with his plants. He assumed his neighbor was either taking a breath of fresh air, or perhaps a smoke, and decided not to bother him and try to remain unnoticed. Though he could soon feel someone staring at him, and couldn't help himself but to sneak a glance.

Well, there was no cigarette in the man's hand, so it seemed he was merely taking a breath of fresh air. Rei caught his stare and felt himself grow confused, then slightly flustered, then calm again. Whoever this guy was, he was staring at Rei as if he were the most gorgeous thing in the world, his eyes were wide, and his smile was large.

"Good morning!" he called, giving Rei a tentative wave.

For some inexplicble reason, Rei found himself catching his breath. "Oh, good morning."

Nothing else was said, and within the next couple of minutes, the stranger had ducked back inside. Rei refocused himself with his plants, wondering why he felt so disapointed with the length of their conversation.

He shrugged it off, distracting himself with botany.

...

It was at the flower shop that their second meeting was held, a place where Rei could just spend hours with the beautiful species, the colours of the plants, just assorting them into bouquets. He was in the middle of a fairly interesting bridal request, when the familiar _ding_ of the shop's bell went off. Setting down his work, he turned around and offered a smile to whoever had walked in.

It had been a couple of weeks, but he was certain that the new customer was his neighbor. As certain as he could be, considering the newcomer was drenched head to toe, wearing a suit that looked a bit to big for him. Had it been raining? Rei guessed he'd only jumped into the shop for protection.

"Wow, what amazing flowers!" The soaked man exclaimed, running off towards the Aqua Lilium, his eyes sparkling. Yes, it was most definitely his neighbor. "I've never seen so many in one place! Is this a greenhouse?!"

It was not a greenhouse, much to Rei's dismay, but it was a close second. He watched the blond jump up and down through the aisles, almost as if he were unaware Rei was even there. But then he suddenly ran for the counter, his hair flinging water everywhere.

"Where are the roses?"

Their eyes met, and suddenly, Rei felt himself being pulled out of his chair, somehow managing to lead this man to the requested flowers without falling over. What was wrong with him? This neighbor of his made his throat go completely dry.

"Say, don't you live on 226 Kyodo?" The question drew Rei out of his trance, following the voice like a beacon to reality.

"Yes," he mumbled, "I believe we're neighbors."

"I thought so!" The childish grin that formed on the blond's face made Rei's heart twist. This stranger was quite beautiful, now that he got a good look at him. "I'm Hazuki, Nagisa!" After introducing himself, he read Rei's nametag. "And you're Rei-chan!"

Rei almost spluttered, "Rei-_chan_?!"

Nagisa gave him a surprisingly knowing smile, "You can call me Nagisa!"

"We're not that close..." Rei started to protest, but Nagisa ignored him, and plucked one of the yellow roses, one tipped with red.

"Here you go!" Nagisa chirped, "It's a symbol of our friendship, 'kay?"

It could've been luck, it could've been actual intellegence, but Nagisa had somehow chosen to give Rei the right coloured rose with the exact meaning of it. Unsure of how to respond, Rei reluctantly handed Nagisa an orange rose that happened to catch his eye.

"Here, use it to brighten up your apartment, or something." Rei said, trying not to mumble. He wasn't good with being friendly, and he seriously doubted someone as bright and cheerful as Nagisa needed anything to perk up their home, but...

"Thanks so much, Rei-chan!" Nagisa beamed, digging into his pockets.

"No... It's uh, on the house." Rei decided the best way to be rid of this twisted knot that had formed in his stomach was to be nice to the guy.

Nagisa looked like he might sparkle like some anime character, "Thank you so much, Rei-chan!" Bringing the rose up to his face, Nagisa inhaled it. "Wow, it smells so good!"

Rei walked back to the counter, feeling somewhat lighter than usual. Perhaps Nagisa's cheerfuless was wearing off on him, he wondered, sitting back on his stool and continuing to work with the flowers. That was ridiculous, Rei realized, gripping a lily tightly in his hand. How could someone he barely knew be rubbing off on him? Was he going nuts?

He looked up, wanting to say something, but it was too late. Nagisa was nowhere in sight. Sighing, Rei glanced over at his rose, smiling softly as he got back to arranging the bouquet.

...

Third time's the charm, was that the saying? Well, to Rei, the third time was brief, strange, and suprising. It took place on a Saturday morning, he was just getting back from his jog.

As he passed by the apartment complex next to his, he caught himself wondering what ever happened to Nagisa. It had been an entire month, but Rei still couldn't shake his pressence away. He kept thinking of that smile, those eyes, that beautiful energy that so rarely existed in humans-

His thoughts were cut short when someone rammed into his side, causing them to both topple over. As Rei collided with the pavement, he noticed a camera falling to the ground, catching it swiftly before it broke.

Rei then turned to the person who had collided with him, "Hey, try being more careful-!"

Those amethyst eyes were on him, staring wide-eyed, his jaw hanging open. It was Nagisa, of all people, who had run into him. Nagisa, who was wearing a ruffled suit and had a half-eaten piece of toast hanging from his open mouth.

"Uh, is this yours?" Rei asked, holding it out to him. Obviously Nagisa wouldn't recognise him, it'd been way too long for that.

Nagisa smiled, swallowing the toast whole and snatchin the camera. He got to his feet, pulling Rei up without his consent. "Thanks, Rei-chan!" Nagisa beamed, waved at him, and ran off at top speed, hailing a cab as he did so.

Rei stood shell-shocked on the crowded street, the place where Nagisa had grabbed his arm scorching from the lingering touch. His heartbeat thrummed visciously, probably a side effect from getting knocked over, and his palms were sweaty.

When these things did not stop as he reached his apartment, Rei found that there must be something wrong with his health. Either that, or Nagisa had done it by appearing the moment Rei was thinking about him. As Rei closed the door, he feared the worse. Slipping out of his tracksuit, he entally convinced himself that he was not attracted to his neighbor, and that noting beautiful physical attributes was something he'd done since he was in grade school.

Satisfied with his denial, Rei retreated to his couch, where he sat reading a book about European flowers, emersing himself in a knowledgable bliss.

...

"Hey, sorry for running into you, this morning!"

Rei looked up from his garden to see Nagisa's window open, and the man in question smiling at him with his hands on his chin, elbows propped on the edge.

"It was no trouble, just watch where you're going." Rei said, maintaining his cool despite the fact that he was totally and completely flustered with this enigma he called a neighbor.

Nagisa laughed, a fleeting, cheerful sound. When he laughed, his head tilted backwards a little, and Rei could almost see the wrinkle near his eyes, if not for the distance. "I really am sorry, Rei-chan. I overslept, and was late for a job interview. So I was in a bit of a rush, you know?"

Rei wanted to ask what Nagisa did for a living, but he stopped, uncertain if it was good to pry. "It's fine, really. Don't worry about it."

"But you saved my camera!" Nagisa suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, Rei-chan, thank you so much. That thing is worth my life!" A photographer. Bingo.

"It- It was no trouble," Rei stressed, ignoring the blush that rose to his face as much as he could. "I felt like I owed you, I guess."

That made Nagisa's smile reach his ears, the kind of smile that could make a poor man feel rich. Rei got weak in the knees, which _never_ happened.

"If anything, Rei-chan, I owe you! You gave me that rose (it would've wilted if I hadn't pressed it in a book, by now) and you sheltered me from that storm with your pretty shop, and now you've saved my camera!" Nagisa listed things off with his fingers, waving them around through the air. "You're my knight in shining armor!"

This time, Rei was sure he was as red as a poinsettia. "That's a bit of a stretch, isn't it?" He asked, laughing to hide his nervousness.

Nagisa laughed, leaning backwards again. He stared up at the sky overhead of them, a bright, electric blue. The clouds swirled like snakes, and Rei couldn't help but notice the way Nagisa gulped it all in, the way he studied it all like Rei studied flowers.

"Stay right there!" Nagisa chirped, bringing Rei back to earth. Startled, he watched as Nagisa ran away, listening to the study rhythm of his retreating footsteps.

When Nagisa returned, he held a camera. It wasn't the same one as he had in the morning, but an older model, the kind that instantly generated the picture after it'd been taken.

He pointed it at Rei, grinning. "Say cheese!"

Rei was not ready for a picture; he was bent over his plants, his glasses were fogged, he probably had sweat on his brow, and he was still quite flustered and confused. Opening his mouth to protest, Rei could faintly hear the _click_ of Nagisa's finger hitting the button.

There was no way that that picture looked beautiful.

Nagisa pulled it out and waved it around after it developed, then proceeded to stare at it. He laughed again, and then took Rei by surprise by neatly folding the photograph into a paper areoplane. Sticking out his tongue, Nagisa focused hard, and flicked his wrist forwards.

The spring air carried it safely into Rei's garden, landing directly next to his hand. It was perfect aim, Rei realised, taking the picture and trying to unfold it as carefully as he could. Though it had creases in it, Rei could see everything clearly.

He was not typically vain with his appearance; though he knew he was attractive, Rei never bothered to use it as a weapon, because, to him, it was just a fact. But the picture that Nagisa had taken, the clumsy, strange picture, made him look dazzling.

The way the sun shone brightly across his slightly flushed cheeks, how his eyes were narrowed and his lips were curved. The plants and all their colours lighting up under Rei like a rainbow. All this was because Nagisa had taken it.

"It's a nice picture, isn't it?" Nagisa hummed, "It would've turned out better if you weren't moving, though."

Rei smiled, "Did you get the job? The one you were running to this morning, I mean..."

Nagisa grinned again, nodding childishly. "Yeah, they hired me to take some pictures of the ocean. I'll be busy with that tomorrow, all the way down in Iwatobi."

"That was my hometown," Rei said without thinking, inwardly cursing at his spilling of personal information.

"Eh? Mine, too!" Nagisa leaned further out the window, eyes wide. "This must be destiny!"

There it was again, that enigmatic pulse that Nagisa gave him. Rei coughed, shaking his head. "It's merely a coincidence!" He was blushing; this was not beautiful.

"But still, Rei-chan! We both have girly names, we live across from each other, and we're both from Iwatobi!" Nagisa murmured, bringing the camera up again. "I think it's pretty amazing." He snapped another photo, this time catching Rei with wide eyes and red cheeks.

...

For the next couple of weeks, that's how meeting Nagisa happened. He would arrive at his window whenever he saw Rei working, and would instantly begin chatting him up. Rei learned Nagisa had wanted to be a swimmer when he was a child, and Rei confessed that he used to dream of being a pole-vaulting champion, himself. Nagisa sometimes sents paper areoplanes made out of pictures over to Rei's window, sometimes just with spare notes he had lying around the house, and purposefully hit Rei in the head, a few times.

Nagisa was gentle when he spoke, despite the constant vivacity that surrounded him, and his words carried over the twelve or so meters that seperated them, and tickled Rei's ears. The way he moved his hands when he made loud declarations, the cheeky facial expressions he wore when teasing, the way he sighed and the way he laughed, it all made Rei feel lightheaded and warm.

And Nagisa liked listening to Rei, too, even if he did most of the talking. He sometimes barely spoke at all, and let Rei entertain him with his constant rambles which Rei was sure he found uninteresting, but looked so focused he continued talking, anyway. One time, he told Rei that his eyes were pretty, and that he just wanted to take a picture of him. He said stuff like that without warning, so Rei was constantly being taken aback by his bluntness.

As summer rolled around, Nagisa was at the window more often, and he even visted the shop more. Being a photographer, the majority of his work tended to stack up in the spring and the fall, when it wasn't too hot or too cold, and the colours o the sakura trees were doing all kinds of weird things.

Rei, however, got lots of work in the summer due to the plants being in full bloom, and summer romances had always given his shop plenty of buisness.

Still, he didn't mind when Nagisa showed up and sat on the counter, legs dangling above the ground and signing some anime theme as he worked. Rei liked it, he welcomed it. Nagisa was probably the first friend Rei had ever really let get away with these kinds of things, and he was just so energetic, it was hard to refuse him.

"You've gotten used to me!" Nagisa called out from his window one day, which made Rei jump in surprise. "I'm glad, you're really putting up with me well, Rei-chan."

"Where'd that come from?" he asked, cutting one of the thorns off his rosebush.

Nagisa laughed, "No where, really! One of my sisters is coming to visit me tomorrow, so I was just thinking how you deal with me much better than she ever did." The blond let out a dramatic sigh, leaning over his windowsill and staring up at Rei wistfully. "She's probably going to lecture me, or something."

Rei was curious, but said nothing. If Nagisa was on bad terms with his family, he had no right to barge in. "I never had any siblings," Rei told him, trying to lighten the mood.

"You don't want any!" Nagisa frowned, pouting like a child. "They're brutal, cruel creatures, Rei-chan."

It wasn't really Rei's fault for laughing, it was Nagisa's expression. The photographer glared at him, but it was weak, and then he joined Rei, his shoulder bouncing as he giggled. Being like this, laughing with him, Rei found himself at peace. He wouldn't trade Nagisa's smile for anything.

"My sister will be here around noon, so I was going to ask a favor." Nagisa suddenly piped up, looking at Rei with guilty eyes. "I was wondering if you could be around your window after you eat your supper, I'll probably want to talk to you."

"Of course," Rei said it immediately, without hesitation or questioning. Damn, Nagisa had him whipped. But that big, huge, toothy smile was worth it.

"Thanks, Rei-chan!" Nagisa smiled, slipped back inside, and closed his window.

Rei pretended he did not just get palpitations.

...

When Rei finished his dinner (a ramen cup, he'd been busy at the shop that day and was too exhausted to do any actual cooking), he went out and sat by his window, but did no open it. Instead, he pulled out an English book he had been reading, and looked up to see if Nagisa was there every two paragraphs. He was halfway through his third chapter, when he saw Nagisa's window open out of the corner of his eye.

Rei stood, slid his window up, and poked his head outside. The sight that greeted him was most definitely not beautiful, it wasn't beautiful at all.

Nagisa looked so sad, his cheeks were stained with tears, his nose sniffled, and his lips were quivering. He let out a choked sob when he saw Rei, then instantly tried to smile, but wound up crying some more. Rei felt sick; Nagisa should be happy, not like this.

"What's wrong, Nagisa-kun?" Rei exclaimed, leaning as far as he dared over his flowerbox, wishing he could reach the blond. "Tell me what happened."

"R- Rei... chan..." was all Nagisa managed between his choking, crying noises.

And that was all it took. Rei may or may not have yelled 'stay put', as he barely closed his window, grabbed his shoes, and then ran out of his apartment. He certainly didn't take the elevator, and used all of those jogging muscles he had to sprint down the stairs, tripping only once and doing a barrel roll to get back on his feet.

Rei had no time to marvel how he'd done that in a moment of adreneline, because he was running through the main lobby, out the door, and onto the busy street. He had no time to catch his breath, because he was still running, and he barely even stopped to ask to front desk, completely out of breath, where Hazuki Nagisa resided.

Apartment six-c, those words echoed in Rei's mind as he ran up another flight of stairs, and his eyes took in all the lables on the doors. His red glasses almost slid off his face, but he adjusted them as he took a wild spin around the corner, finally on the sixth floor.

His knuckles were white as he knocked on Nagisa's door, breathing heavily, probably red-faced, and hunched over. This wasn't beautiful, this was just plain crazy. Rei had literally sprinted to almost his limit, and all for Nagisa, who might've just stubbed his toe for all Rei knew. But he didn't care, he just wanted to make him smile again, he needed to see that smile.

When Nagisa opened the door, his eyes widened so much Rei thought they'd fall out of their sockets. "Rei-chan!" He leapt upwards, legs wrapping around Rei's waist, arms folding around Rei's shoulders, and he rubbed his teary, snot covered face all over Rei's shirt. He was still crying, but he was also laughing.

"Nagisa-kun, can you tell me what's wrong?" Rei asked, awkwardly shuffling into the apartment as he held the other man like a zookeeper would hold a large monkey.

"My sister, Rei-chan." Nagisa said, calming down just a little bit. "She got married, and didn't invite me to the wedding! And she insulted my career, made fun of my apartment, and said that I was still just a brat who didn't know anything." His face had gone from sad to angry, as he climbed off of Rei and sat on the floor.

Nagisa's apartment was more colourful than Rei's flowers, with photographs taped to the wall, a purple coat of paint, and the occasional stuffed penguin, Rei thought it was a lot like a huge, high school girl's bedroom. But it was oddly suited to Nagisa's behavior, and he just found it more endearing than odd.

"You're sister sounds like sentis bush," Rei muttered, sitting down next to Nagisa and sighing.

"What's that?" Nagisa asked, wiping his cheeks to rub away the tears.

"It's this huge, brambled bush that's famous for poking people with it's thorns." Rei said, matter of factly. "I was once badly injured by one in grade school, I had bandages on for weeks."

Nagisa laughed, lightly. It made Rei's heart swell, and he pulled a tissue that he happened to have in his jeans out, handing it to Nagisa so he could blow his nose.

"Yeah, she's always been like that." Nagisa laughed, wiping away the snot. He gave Rei a grateful look, and leaned his head on his shoulder. They had their backs pressed against the apartment door, and Nagisa's hair tickled his neck. "Thank you, Rei-chan..." he murmured, closing his eyes.

Rei studied him, this being the closest they'd ever been. Nagisa's eyelashes were long, his face was short, he was wearing a pink t-shirt with a star on each sleeve. He was attractive, aestectically speaking, and Rei liked looking at him.

"Did you seriously run all the way here?" Nagisa suddenly sat up, looking at Rei with sly, wide eyes and a cheshire grin.

His cheeks now matching his glasses, Rei ducked his head, nodding slowly.

"Oh my god, Rei-chan, you are such a good guy. You're nothing but an eccentric nerd!" Nagisa giggled, poking Rei in the side teasingly. "You come across as a suave, cool dude, but you're the biggest dork ever! Thank you!"

The florist batted at his hands, still blushing. "Stop it, I am not a dork!" Rei wanted to be insulted, he really did, but Nagisa just made it so difficult.

Nagisa nuzzled his head against Rei's shoulder, laughing childishly, as if he'd never been sad in all of his life. Out of relief, Rei smiled at him softly, watching him laugh.

"Thank you, Rei-chan." Nagisa murmured, smiling shyly up at the other man.

Rei blushed some more, and pouted. He wasn't sure how to respond, "Well, it wasn't any trouble... Just don't... Don't cry again."

"Alright!" Nagisa beamed, holding up his hand with his pinkie outstretched. "I promise!"

It was ridiculous, childish; but Rei didn't care, and he linked pinkies with the other man, sighing. Nagisa's hands were warm, and his eyes were bright. He was beautiful, like this, smiling at Rei with pink cheeks and eyes that were drying.

"Rei-chan," Nagisa suddenly stopped smiling, and he glanced at the floor rather nervously. "Uh, would you please stay here for a while? I don't want to be alone, at least, not right now."

Rei went from merely holding his pinkie, to clutching his hand, and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I understand, Nagisa-kun."

They ended up watching some Korean drama that Nagisa was hooked on, and Rei didn't question how they woke up mangled in each other's arms on the couch. Or how their hands were still linked.

...

It was Nagisa who invited himself over to Rei's apartment, the following week. He claimed it was only fair, since Rei had visited him, and his curiousity was eating away at him every time they spoke. Rei, needless to say, was unable to refuse him.

He managed to clean up a bit before Nagisa arrived, and then made sure his plants were all watered. Rei felt nervous; he shouldn't have, his apartment was the cleanest one in the building, but he still felt incredibly insecure about it.

When Nagisa showed up at his door, he barely greeted Rei before exclaiming loudly, "Wow! Rei-chan, your house is so neat!" And then he ran past the taller man and spun around, looking over the main room in awe.

"It's not anything special," Rei mumbled, adjusting his glasses in an attempt to hide his pleasure.

Nagisa whipped his head around, smiling brightly. "Are you kidding?! This place is like a little castle!" The blond rushed over to one of Rei's bookshelves, running his hands along the spines with care. "It's a little library! Did you organize these alphabetically?"

Rei flushed, then nodded. Nagisa's smile just got bigger, and he took another spin, his arms spread wide. "And it's a lot bigger than my apartment! Or maybe it's the same size, only cleaner? Hmm, maybe I should get a maid." As Nagisa blabbered on, he headed for Rei's window. Rei watched him smile nostalgically at it, and then Nagisa turned to him, still smiling, but with less energy, and more sincerity.

"Rei-chan, do you grind your teeth when you sleep?"

There were not many times when the word 'guffawed' could be inserted into a sentence, but in this case, that is exactly what Rei did. "What does that have to do with anything?" He said, covering his mouth to hold back any more laughter.

Nagisa walked over to him, his smile slowly getting bigger. "Oh, I was just thinking to myself. 'If Rei-chan grinds his teeth when he sleeps, then he probably isn't a good cook'."

"I'll have you know, I can cook quite well, and I do not grind my teeth when I sleep." Rei defended himself and crossed his arms, speaking effeciently. "And what do those two seemingly unrelated notions have to do with anything?"

"You're the genius, Rei-chan." Nagisa dodged his question and stepped closer, grinning wickedly. "I bet you can figure it out."

Uncertain of what to make of his current predicament, Rei decided to mull over Nagisa's random questions. As he did so, the blond somehow managed to weave his arms around Rei's neck, and then force him down to his level.

Rei stopped thinking all together and just stared, taking in the childish smirk on Nagisa's face as the other man leaned in and smushed their lips together. It lasted a total of five seconds before Nagisa pulled back, releasing Rei from his grasp triumphantly.

"Oh," Rei said, dumbfounded. He wasn't even embarrassed, just shocked, and oddly intrigued. "Oh..." he repeated, realisation dawning on him.

Nagisa was blushing, and he looked almost guilty, but not quite regretful. "Rei-chan, I really, really like you. And I want you to tell me about your fancy Latin flowers, I want you to be embarrassed and laugh with me, and I want to kiss you a lot!" Nagisa did not slow down, and continued talking. "This is super clich

é of me, I know, but aren't confessions that are overated the best ones of them all?"

Instead of answering Nagisa's question, Rei leaned down again, and this time he kissed Nagisa as hard as he could. "You're beautiful," Rei mumured onto the other man's lips, and he did not break the kiss off, but deepened it.

Rei had never been one for kissing, he always thought it looked awkward and squishy. But it was soft, a little slippery, and it felt decent. He would not lie and say kissing Nagisa felt like the most amazing thing in the world, but he would say that it felt pretty awesome. And, apparently, Nagisa returned this feeling, and he allowed Rei to back him up against a wall, just kissing him and laughing. They didn't do anything else, they just kissed, laughed and talked.

Nagisa told Rei about photography, Rei told him about flowers, and then they both just curled up on Rei's couch and ate some pizza Rei had in his freezer, and they talked and kissed some more.

It felt like it was their first meeting all over again; a shy wave, a timid greeting, and then a lingering attraction. Rei let Nagisa touch him, and Nagisa let Rei do the same, and it was beautiful. Clumsy, but beautiful.

That was the first time they kissed; it was a relitively warm evening in the third week of August. Rei had invited Nagisa over to his house, and now found himself staring at his sleeping, peaceful face across his bed. He caressed his cheek, smiling breathlessly at him, and everything felt fine.


End file.
